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Before long we might not need business cards or resumes any more. Or at least in their current forms.

Bye bye, business cards?

Are you carrying any business cards on you right now? When I look back at the past 3-6 months, I think I’ve left my business cards at home more than I have had them with me. Lately, when someone hands me a business card, I enter it directly into my phone, which gets synced to my email account, and hand the card back to them.

Smartphone apps like Bump, Evernote, and Google Goggles can help with this, too. I’ve tried each of them and have had some success. I still like being able to enter the information directly, but that’s my personal preference.

I’ve had a Virtual Business Card on my website for years.

Resume retirement?

Could the resume become a thing of the past?

Jim Edwards from Business Insider spoke with LinkedIn’s ad sales chief, Jonathan Lister, about this recently. Lister believes that business cards and resumes are disappearing and that we’ll be relying on the contact information we provide digitally as well as LinkedIn profiles or other places online. In addition to LinkedIn, lately I’ve also found About.me, and Google+ personally useful.I think that will still take a lot longer to happen, but signs are pointing that your online profiles will become the resumes of the future. I had breakfast late last year with a potential employer, and he had a printout of my LinkedIn profile with him instead of my resume. I’ve often argued that Google’s search results are going to be the online resume of the future. You are what Google says you are.

Where to find me online (Photo credit: danieljohnsonjr)

What do you think? Are you seeing less use of business cards and resumes in your own search?

Read more from the article here: Business Insder: Q&A with LinkedIn’s ad sales chief, Jonathan Lister

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There are plenty of things you can do to optimize your LinkedIn profile as someone looking for work. We could do a whole series on LinkedIn profile optimization probably (maybe we will!). I’ve included some other great posts in the Related Links section, but here’s one simple power move you can make.

LinkedIn power tip: your headline

I learned from my friend Amybeth Hale that there is a whole science around how recruiters and sourcers (not sorcerers!) – people whose job it is to find potential candidates for recruiters – search for people. In fact, there’s a blog you can read that goes into this very subject called Boolean Black Belt. One thing she taught me was that these folks are searching the Professional headline/tagline/status field in LinkedIn specifically for people who mention that they are “looking for work”.

LinkedIn status

This item in your LinkedIn profile is also what shows up as others browse connections while using LinkedIn. It shows up whenever you post discussions and answers. It’s a great way to help brand yourself.

Read more about it at Amybeth’s article “What!? *Don’t* put ‘looking for a job’ in your LinkedIn status?!?“. My key takeaway: if you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it. (That, and to be nice to the sourcers and recruiters in your life who can help you find your next gig!)

What are some LinkedIn power tips that have worked for you?

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• What Your LinkedIn Profile Says About YOU (customerthink.com)
• Top 20 Most Useful LinkedIn Blog Posts of 2010 (customerthink.com)
• LinkedIn Reveals the 10 Most Overused Job-Hunter Buzzwords (mashable.com)

Connecting with Daniel Johnson, Jr. directly on LinkedIn is easy, but please mention that you saw this post: LinkedIn power tip: your headline.

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I saw that Jennifer McClure had shared this link on the Job Search Focus Group of Hyde Park (Cincinnati) LinkedIn group.  Great stuff you need to see:

7 Must Read SlideShare Presentations For Job Seekers | Applicant – Job Tips And Advice.

Related posts:

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3. The Job Files: Job Tools, Tips, Articles and Strategies for Today’s Jobseeker

I initially started this blog as a resource for myself.  As I read and consume content that I think would be worthwhile sharing, I often consider it in that frame of reference.

Such is the case with this jewle  jewel from Rachel Levy:

Using social media for a job search | Rachel Levy – Boston marketing pro (social networking, Twitter).

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1. The Buzz Report: Five reasons social networking doesn’t work – CNET.com
2. TweetMyJobs – Using Twitter in the job search
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A coworker just commended me on something through an instant message (IM):

“Thanks, you saved me today with your help.”

It reminded me that I have a document for comments like this, so I added it to the “Quotes about my Performance” document I have.  You should have one, too.

Why you should have this

A document like this is important for several reasons. I’ll include some ones I have, and I encourage you to add to the list in the comments:

• Credibility of your accomplishments. It serves as a record of your accomplishments in someone else’s words.
• Recommendations. Comments like these can be used in promotional material for yourself.
• Cover letters. Specifically, reinforce a point made in a cover letter with a quote from a coworker or client about what you’ve done.
• Encouragement. When you feel down or discouraged, you can refer to this list and remember that you have done something others have found valuable
• References. Chances are if people have praised your work before, they might serve as references. Feel free to remind them what they’ve said if they have forgotten.

Where to find them

I’ve identified some places where you find quotes from others about you.  Feel free to add to the list in the comments:

• E-mail. If you have worked where you send and receive e-mail, you probably have some messages with morsels of praise within.  Find those messages. I have often forwarded work messages with content like this to my personal account for this very purpose.
• Performance Reviews. Chances are, if your company does performance reviews, your boss or manager has said something nice about what you’ve done, and you have a copy of it somewhere.
• LinkedIn Recommendations. If you’re on LinkedIn (and you should be if you’re reading this blog- we should even be connected!), you can ask your connections for recommendations. Not only are they useful on your profile over there, but you can include them in this list.
• Blog/Twitter trackbacks. If someone whose opinion you value highly has commended you in a blog post, on Twitter, or through some other form of “new media,” you can use Google Alerts and Twitter Search to find those comments.
• Audio. I may be reaching a bit, but, let’s say you listen to a podcast or interview, or have been interviewed by someone else.  Chances are you’re being interviewed because someone finds what you have to say important.

Start creating one

There are a few ways you can start creating a list like this:

• Handwritten. Get yourself a notebook and start recording these comments in it.  I used to have a page in a Franklin Planner many years ago for this. This might get time consuming, though, and you’ll have to be careful not to misplace your notebook.
• Word. Create a document in Microsoft Word or other word-processing software and start adding to the list. But you’ll need to save this document somewhere and hope you’re able to keep track of it.
• Online. I use Google Docs for this purpose, since I’m able to carry my Google account with me wherever I go, even if I leave an employer and have to give the computer back.
• UPDATE: Jason mentions that the JibberJobber Job Journal is a great way to do this, and it’s now available in the free level.

Feel free to share this on Twitter with the following text:

RT @danieljohnsonjr: (via Get That Job!) I have a document like this and so should you: http://tinyurl.com/gtj-doc

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